This invention relates to sonar transducers and, more particularly, to an arrangement of transducer segments and electrodes for reducing the electrical potential between the electrodes and a case which encloses the transducer.
Sonar transducers utilized in ensonifying water with high-powered sonic energy are often built by an array of piezoelectric ceramic transducer segments with electrodes positioned therebetween for energizing the ceramic segments with a relatively high voltage electrical signal. The magnitude of the exciting voltage is often limited by the physical structure of the transducer assembly, particularly the relative positions between the electrodes which are bonded to the transducer segments and a metallic case which is typically utilized in enclosing the transducer segments. In some physical configurations of the transducer assembly, the danger of arcing between the transducer electrodes and the case present an upper limit on the sound power which can be radiated by the transducer assembly.